PROVIDENCE — Governor Daniel J. McKee’s administration has reached tentative three-year contracts with state employee unions that would provide raises of 5 percent this year, 4 percent next year, and 3 percent the following year.

Final approval of the tentative agreements is subject to ratification by the membership of Rhode Island Council 94 (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) and the Coalition, a group of labor organizations representing other state employees.

The administration and the unions made the announcement Friday, saying the contracts would boost wages while providing millions of dollars in potential savings in health care.

“Amid a labor shortage in key areas and inflation, we must remain competitive with both the public and private sector as we continue to find new and better ways to deliver services to Rhode Islanders,” McKee said. “These agreements strike a fair balance to help support our critical workforce, to address rising prescription and medical costs, and to standardize our operations.”

Council 94 State Vice President Michael McDonald said, “This tentative agreement provides our members with fair and equitable raises and ensures the continued provision of high-quality state services that the citizens of Rhode Island demand and deserve.”

The 5 percent raise would take effect as of July 1 of this year. The 4 percent raise would take effect on July 1, 2025. And the 3 percent raise would take effect on July 1, 2026.

The contracts would include a prescription drug cost-management program for certain specialty drugs, which could save the state up to $3.3 million while also saving money on out-of-pocket costs for state workers, according to Friday’s announcement from the state and unions.

And the contracts would include “virtual musculoskeletal program” that offers personalized care for workers with joint and muscle pain, saving the state up to $1.2 million, according to the joint announcement Friday.

The agreements offer more overall vacation days for employees who have been working for the state for less than 10 years. And they standardize language across contracts in advance of the state launching its new system for human resources, payroll and finance in 2025.

“The Department of Administration is pleased to have reached tentative agreements with our labor partners that reflect our commitment to our employees as well as government efficiency,” Director of Administration Jonathan Womer said. “We have a lot of exciting projects in the works, but the upcoming launch of our new human resources, payroll and finance system is our most important one right now.”

Carly Iafrate, one of the Coalition negotiators, said state employees deserve fair wage increases amid significant changes in working conditions and inflation. “We are extremely pleased we were able to reach a fair agreement with the State and to do so efficiently,” she said. “We look forward to the ratification process with our members.”

Council 94, Rhode Island’s largest public employee union, represents approximately 4,000 active state employees.

The Coalition is a group of individual bargaining units who have agreed to bargain with the state on areas of common interest, including the Laborers’ International Union of North America, the professional unit of the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers, several local units of the Service Employees’ International Union, several local units of the National Education Association, the R.I. Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, the United Nurses and Allied Health Professionals, the National Association of Government Employees, and the Rhode Island Probation and Parole Association.

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.

Horace Mann Hall, which was renovated with state funds in 2023, is seen on Rhode Island College’s campus. The building houses the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, which offers some of the programs of study prioritized by the school’s Hope Scholarship program. (Courtesy of Rhode Island College)

The Hope Scholarship at Rhode Island College (RIC) seems to be living up to its title by producing small gains in the school’s lagging enrollment, the first annual review of the program shows.

Less than a year into the program, RIC has seen higher retainment rates among Hope-enrolled students, who have also taken more classes and more credits. Also on the rise: In-state gross deposits from eligible Hope scholars are up 74.3% from last year.

“The message about the game-changing potential of the Hope Scholarship is reaching Rhode Island students and their families,” said John Taraborelli, RIC spokesperson, in an emailed statement. 

The scholarship pays for a student’s junior and senior years if they commit to RIC as a freshman. Fashioned into law during the 2023 legislative session, the scholarship is meant to increase the number of students who enroll and complete four-year degrees at the state school, with an emphasis on “high-need fields” in health care, nursing and the trades. (Students aren’t required to take those majors, however.) 

The RIC website specifies that students declare a major by their junior year, and that they “commit to live, work or continue education in RI after graduation.”

The scholarship effectively competes with the similar Promise program at Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI). Promise began in 2017 and was designed by then-Gov. Gina Raimondo to encompass two years of free tuition at RIC, CCRI and the University of Rhode Island (URI). Cost concerns led lawmakers to limit the free tuition program to CCRI, and lower enrollment numbers soon followed at RIC and URI. 

 The program’s annual review was prepared in June and the data it contains is still nascent: The scholarship program began in November 2023, so it has yet to complete a full enrollment cycle. Baseline enrollment numbers, the report noted, are expected in fall 2024 once registration is complete.

“We won’t begin to see true measurable results until the first cohort of graduating high school seniors enter college (Fall 2024) then complete their bachelor’s degree (Spring 2028),” the report noted. “We believe the real results of Hope have not yet been fully realized and we will begin to see the true impact once the program is fully implemented.”

But so far, so good: There were 876 more applications this year, a 15.6% increase, and in-state, Hope-eligible applications were up nearly 47%. The majority of the fall 2023 Hope students, 83%, attempted to take 15 or more credits, and 99% of Hope recipients earned all their fall credits. Compared to about 87% of non-Hope full-time students, nearly 98% of Hope students were retained from fall to spring semesters.

The report projected a 67% four-year graduation rate for Hope scholars — not all that low considering the four-year graduation rate for RIC first years averaged only 20% across 2014-2018. In that same period, the average graduation rate was 26% at comparable four-year state colleges.

Still, there are 69 Hope seniors who had not completed their coursework as of the report’s June publication. Three adult students had different eligibility rules, one student was on academic warning in spring 2024, and another student didn’t complete coursework for undisclosed “personal and/or medical challenges,” the report noted, but could appeal the decision and continue their studies.

As for the remaining 30% or so of these students, the report lumps them together, even though their reasons for not completing on time vary. Among these 64 students are double majors, and students enrolled in programs that need more than eight semesters to complete. There were also students who “were enrolled in the minimum full-time course load and did not have a plan for year-round learning,” according to the report, which means taking fewer than 15 credits a semester.

The report suggests that 62% of the non-graduating students are in the high-demand fields, like nursing and education, and students taking especially strenuous plans of study can be considered “on track to graduate” despite not finishing in exactly four years. 

The Hope scholarship program cost the state a projected $2.2 million in fiscal year 2024, and will likely cost $3.9 million in fiscal 2025, according to the report. 

But not all the Hope scholars actually need the program’s money. Taraborelli said there were 112 Hope-eligible students who “had enough other financial aid that they didn’t actually need to receive Hope funds…[but] still benefit[ted] from the program in terms of advising and targeted outreach, even if they don’t receive funds.”

A full-time program director was hired to help the program succeed on the RIC campus, but the report noted that additional promotions are needed to publicize Hope to Rhode Islanders. 

“While we hosted a successful Hope-themed guidance counselor breakfast this past year, we have not yet done significant outreach to local high school teachers,” the report reads. “This is important as classroom teachers often have an influence on student’s decisions to attend college.”

The college also plans to increase its multilingual advertising, use student voices in its marketing, and create a student ambassador program, the report said. 

The enhanced outreach could be helpful as the scholarship isn’t going away anytime soon: Gov. Dan McKee rallied for and successfully won increased support for the Hope Scholarship in his 2025 budget. The state legislature agreed and extended the pilot to 2030. 

“The extension of the Hope Scholarship is a win for Rhode Islanders — now and for generations to come,” McKee said in a statement Thursday. “While we know that higher education is often the key to raising incomes for Rhode Island, we also understand the financial burden this can be.”

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PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Department of Health is warning Rhode Islanders after a resident died from an infection caused by bacteria that live in warm saltwater and brackish water.

The unidentified Rhode Islander died from vibriosis, caused by the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, the Health Department said.

Vibrio bacteria can be dangerous to people if they have an open wound and enter saltwater or brackish water, the Department of Health said. Open wounds include recent cuts and scrapes, recent surgery sites, and recent piercings and tattoos, according to the Health Department.

How common is Vibrio vulnificus?

Infections with Vibrio vulnificus are very rare, and they are much more serious for people with underlying health issues, the Health Department said.

In severe cases, wounds infected with Vibrio vulnificus can lead to sepsis and can be life-threatening, the Health Department said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, “Many people with Vibrio vulnificus infection require intensive care or limb amputations, and about 1 in 5 people with this infection die, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill.”

It is more common in warmer months.

“While Vibrio is rare, it is important for anyone at risk to take precautions while spending time in or around brackish water or saltwater when the weather is warm,” Director of Health Dr. Jerry Larkin said. “Stay out of the water and take precautions if you have a break in the skin or open wound, particularly if you are at higher risk for serious illness.”

Have there been there other cases in Rhode Rhode Island?

People can also become infected with Vibrio after consuming raw or undercooked seafood, the Health Department said.

Before this case, Rhode Island’s last reported case of Vibrio vulnificuswas in 2017.

Last summer, the CDC issued a news release describing an increase in severe Vibrio vulnificuscases in the Eastern United States, the Health Department said. Cases were identified in North Carolina, New York and Connecticut in 2023.

For more information, go to the CDC’s website.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI resident dies of infection from Vibrio bacteria found in saltwater